The trading volume of financial derivatives on the local bourse fell in September as demand for such instruments declined amid a bearish run on the local stock market, data showed Monday.

The daily average trading volume of the derivatives, including futures and options, reached 20.44 trillion won ($19.43 billion) last month, a sharp drop from the record high of 57.2 trillion won tallied in August 2011, according to the data compiled by the Korea Exchange.

The daily turnover of such financial derivatives hit its lowest at 17.34 trillion won in July this year, the data showed.

The daily amount of contracts has also been on a sharp decline, sinking to 145,917 in September, down 69.3 percent from the 475,516 over the cited period, the data showed.

The fall in derivatives turnover came as the local stock market has been boxed in a tight trading range for the past few years.

The country’s key stock index, the KOSPI, has traded in a range of 1,650-2,170 points for the past three years. (Yonhap)